4WD hub

[Fingers]

So, I changed the ball joints in my '86. Now I can't seem to get the hubs on all the way. I made the special tool, torqued to specifications. So the lock nut should be at its proper depth. I just cannot seem to get the hub on deep enough to get the snap ring back on. Am I missing something here? Maybe it's the axle stub not seating properly? The FSM is very unclear on this procedure.

[FMS88]

A few questions: Is the problem on one or both sides? How much more does the shaft need to protrude past the center part of the auto-hub to get the snap ring on? Is there any axial play in the shaft? Did you pull the knuckle off the shaft, grease or replace the knuckle needle bearing and axle-knuckle seal? Did you disassembly the auto-hub to clean/grease it?

The wheel bearings rest on the knuckle, so if you didn't replace them and tightened the lock nut to spec, they should not affect the shaft depth and the ability to install the snap ring. I'm thinking the shaft is either not seating properly at the back of the knuckle or something isn't right in the auto-hub.

[Pengineer1]

You should be able to pull the axle into the hub assembly from the inboard side.

[Fingers]

So, funny enough, there was the smallest of a dent on the hub seal. Straitened it out with a little tap-tap-tappy and it was like a hotdog down a hallway from there. It was boggling me because it was such a minor deflection that it was hard to see. Thanks for all the good help.
BTW, I couldn't find that socket that others talk about modifying, but I did find a 2 5/8 4-tab socket that like a wave pattern between the posts. So I cut it away in such a fashion as to make the pins go full depth into the nut. I'm going to make one with round pins for future use.

[FMS88]

Nice work finding the cause and a solution.